The Polity Settled By Moses; And How He Disappeared From Among Mankind

1. When forty years were completed, within thirty days, Moses
gathered the congregation together near Jordan, where the city
Abila now stands, a place full of palm-trees; and all the people
being come together, he spake thus to them:

2. "O you Israelites and fellow soldiers, who have been partners
with me in this long and uneasy journey; since it is now the
will of God, and the course of old age, at a hundred and twenty,
requires it that I should depart out of this life; and since God
has forbidden me to be a patron or an assistant to you in what
remains to be done beyond Jordan; I thought it reasonable not to
leave off my endeavors even now for your happiness, but to do my
utmost to procure for you the eternal enjoyment of good things,
and a memorial for myself, when you shall be in the fruition of
great plenty and prosperity. Come, therefore, let me suggest to
you by what means you may he happy, and may leave an eternal
prosperous possession thereof to your children after you, and
then let me thus go out of the world; and I cannot but deserve
to be believed by you, both on account of the great things I
have already done for you, and because, when souls are about to
leave the body, they speak with the sincerest freedom. O
children of Israel! there is but one source of happiness for all
mankind, the favor of God (15) for he alone is able to give good
things to those that deserve them, and to deprive those of them
that sin against him; towards whom, if you behave yourselves
according to his will, and according to what I, who well
understand his mind, do exhort you to, you will both beesteemed blessed, and will be admired by all men; and will
never come into misfortunes, nor cease to be happy: you will
then preserve the possession of the good things you already
have, and will quickly obtain those that you are at present in
want of, only do you be obedient to those whom God would have
you to follow. Nor do you prefer any other constitution of
government before the laws now given you; neither do you
disregard that way of Divine worship which you now have, nor
change it for any other form: and if you do this, you will be
the most courageous of all men, in undergoing the fatigues of
war, and will not be easily conquered by any of your enemies;
for while God is present with you to assist you, it is to be
expected that you will be able to despise the opposition of all
mankind; and great rewards of virtue are proposed for you, if
you preserve that virtue through your whole lives. Virtue itself
is indeed the principal and the first reward, and after that it
bestows abundance of others; so that your exercise of virtue
towards other men will make your own lives happy, and render you
more glorious than foreigners can be, and procure you an
undisputed reputation with posterity. These blessings you will
be able to obtain, in case you hearken to and observe those laws
which, by Divine revelation, I have ordained for you; that is,
in case you withal meditate upon the wisdom that is in them. I
am going from you myself, rejoicing in the good things you
enjoy; and I recommend you to the wise conduct of your law, to
the becoming order of your polity, and to the virtues of your
commanders, who will take care of what is for your
advantage. And that God, who has been till now your Leader, and
by whose goodwill I have myself been useful to you, will not put
a period now to his providence over you, but as long as you
desire to have him your Protector in your pursuits after virtue,
so long will you enjoy his care over you. Your high priest also
Eleazar, as well as Joshua, with the senate, and chief of your
tribes, will go before you, and suggest the best advices to you;
by following which advices you will continue to be happy: to
whom do you give ear without reluctance, as sensible that all
such as know well how to be governed, will also know how to
govern, if they be promoted to that authority themselves. And do
not you esteem liberty to consist in opposing such directions as
your governors think fit to give you for your practice, as at
present indeed you place your liberty in nothing else but
abusing your benefactors; which error if you can avoid for the
time to come, your affairs will be in a better condition than
they have hitherto been. Nor do you ever indulge such a degree
of passion in these matters, as you have oftentimes done when
you have been very angry at me; for you know that I have been
oftener in danger of death from you than from our enemies. What
I now put you in mind of, is not done in order to reproach you;
for I do not think it proper, now I am going out of the world,
to bring this to your remembrance, in order to leave you
offended at me, since, at the time when I underwent those
hardships from you, I was not angry at you; but I do it in order
to make you wiser hereafter, and to teach you that this will be
for your security; I mean, that you never be injurious to those
that preside over you, even when you are become rich, as you
will he to a great degree when you have passed over Jordan, and
are in possession of the land of Canaan. Since, when you shall
have once proceeded so far by your wealth, as to a contempt and
disregard of virtue, you will also forfeit the favor of God; and
when you have made him your enemy, you will be beaten in war,
and will have the land which you possess taken away again from
you by your enemies, and this with great reproaches upon your
conduct. You will be scattered over the whole world, and will,
as slaves, entirely fill both sea and land; and when once you
have had the experience of what I now say, you will repent, and
remember the laws you have broken, when it is too late. Whence I
would advise you, if you intend to preserve these laws, to leave
none of your enemies alive when you have conquered them, but to
look upon it as for your advantage to destroy them all, lest, if
you permit them to live, you taste of their manners, and thereby
corrupt your own proper institutions. I also do further exhort
you, to overthrow their altars, and their groves, and whatsoever
temples they have among them, and to burn all such, their
nation, and their very memory with fire; for by this means alone
the safety of your own happy constitution can be firmly secured
to you. And in order to prevent your ignorance of virtue, and
the degeneracy of your nature into vice, I have also ordained
you laws, by Divine suggestion, and a form of government, which
are so good, that if you regularly observe them, you will be
esteemed of all men the most happy."

3. When he had spoken thus, he gave them the laws and the
constitution of government written in a book. Upon which the
people fell into tears, and appeared already touched with the
sense that they should have a great want of their conductor,
because they remembered what a number of dangers he had passed
through, and what care he had taken of their preservation: they
desponded about what would come upon them after he was dead, and
thought they should never have another governor like him; and
feared that God would then take less care of them when Moses was
gone, who used to intercede for them. They also repented of what
they had said to him in the wilderness when they were angry, and
were in grief on those accounts, insomuch that the whole body of
the people fell into tears with such bitterness, that it was
past the power of words to comfort them in their
affliction. However, Moses gave them some consolation; and by
calling them off the thought how worthy he was of their weeping
for him, he exhorted them to keep to that form of government he
had given them; and then the congregation was dissolved at that
time.

4. Accordingly, I shall now first describe this form of
government which was agreeable to the dignity and virtue of
Moses; and shall thereby inform those that read these
Antiquities, what our original settlements were, and shall then
proceed to the remaining histories. Now those settlements are
all still in writing, as he left them; and we shall add nothing
by way of ornament, nor any thing besides what Moses left us;
only we shall so far innovate, as to digest the several kinds of
laws into a regular system; for they were by him left in writing
as they were accidentally scattered in their delivery, and as he
upon inquiry had learned them of God. On which account I have
thought it necessary to premise this observation beforehand,
lest any of my own countrymen should blame me, as having been
guilty of an offense herein. Now part of our constitution will
include the laws that belong to our political state. As for
those laws which Moses left concerning our common conversation
and intercourse one with another, I have reserved that for a
discourse concerning our manner of life, and the occasions of
those laws; which I propose to myself, with God's assistance, to
write, after I have finished the work I am now upon.

5. When you have possessed yourselves of the land of Canaan, and
have leisure to enjoy the good things of it, and when you have
afterward determined to build cities, if you will do what is
pleasing to God, you will have a secure state of happiness. Let
there be then one city of the land of Canaan, and this situate
in the most agreeable place for its goodness, and very eminent
in itself, and let it be that which God shall choose for himself
by prophetic revelation. Let there also be one temple therein,
and one altar, not reared of hewn stones, but of such as you
gather together at random; which stones, when they are whited
over with mortar, will have a handsome appearance, and be
beautiful to the sight. Let the ascent to it be not by steps
(16) but by an acclivity of raised earth. And let there be
neither an altar nor a temple in any other city; for God is but
one, and the nation of the Hebrews is but one.

6. He that blasphemeth God, let him be stoned; and let him hang
upon a tree all that day, and then let him be buried in an
ignominious and obscure manner.

7. Let those that live as remote as the bounds of the land which
the Hebrews shall possess, come to that city where the temple
shall be, and this three times in a year, that they may give
thanks to God for his former benefits, and may entreat him for
those they shall want hereafter; and let them, by this means,
maintain a friendly correspondence with one another by such
meetings and feastings together, for it is a good thing for
those that are of the same stock, and under the same institution
of laws, not to be unacquainted with each other; which
acquaintance will be maintained by thus conversing together, and
by seeing and talking with one another, and so renewing the
memorials of this union; for if they do not thus converse
together continually, they will appear like mere strangers to
one another.

8. Let there be taken out of your fruits a tenth, besides that
which you have allotted to give to the priests and Levites. This
you may indeed sell in the country, but it is to be used in
those feasts and sacrifices that are to be celebrated in the
holy city; for it is fit that you should enjoy those fruits of
the earth which God gives you to possess, so as may be to the
honor of the donor.

9. You are not to offer sacrifices out of the hire of a woman
who is a harlot (17) for the Deity is not pleased with any thing
that arises from such abuses of nature; of which sort none can
be worse than this prostitution of the body. In like manner no
one may take the price of the covering of a bitch, either of one
that is used in hunting, or in keeping of sheep, and thence
sacrifice to God.

10. Let no one blaspheme those gods which other cities esteem
such; (18) nor may any one steal what belongs to strange
temples, nor take away the gifts that are dedicated to any god.

11. Let not any one of you wear a garment made of woolen and
linen, for that is appointed to be for the priests alone.

12. When the multitude are assembled together unto the holy city
for sacrificing every seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles,
let the high priest stand upon a high desk, whence he may be
heard, and let him read the laws to all the people; and let
neither the women nor the children be hindered from hearing, no,
nor the servants neither; for it is a good thing that those laws
should be engraven in their souls, and preserved in their
memories, that so it may not be possible to blot them out; for
by this means they will not be guilty of sin, when they cannot
plead ignorance of what the laws have enjoined them. The laws
also will have a greater authority among them, as foretelling
what they will suffer if they break them; and imprinting in
their souls by this hearing what they command them to do, that
so there may always be within their minds that intention of the
laws which they have despised and broken, and have thereby been
the causes of their own mischief. Let the children also learn
the laws, as the first thing they are taught, which will be the
best thing they can be taught, and will be the cause of their
future felicity.

13. Let every one commemorate before God the benefits which he
bestowed upon them at their deliverance out of the land of
Egypt, and this twice every day, both when the day begins and
when the hour of sleep comes on, gratitude being in its own
nature a just thing, and serving not only by way of return for
past, but also by way of invitation of future favors. They are
also to inscribe the principal blessings they have received from
God upon their doors, and show the same remembrance of them upon
their arms; as also they are to bear on their forehead and their
arm those wonders which declare the power of God, and his
good-will towards them, that God's readiness to bless them may
appear every where conspicuous about them. (19)

14. Let there be seven men to judge in every city, (20) and
these such as have been before most zealous in the exercise of
virtue and righteousness. Let every judge have two officers
allotted him out of the tribe of Levi. Let those that are
chosen to judge in the several cities be had in great honor; and
let none be permitted to revile any others when these are
present, nor to carry themselves in an insolent manner to them;
it being natural that reverence towards those in high offices
among men should procure men's fear and reverence towards
God. Let those that judge be permitted to determine according as
they think to be right, unless any one can show that they have
taken bribes, to the perversion of justice, or can allege any
other accusation against them, whereby it may appear that they
have passed an unjust sentence; for it is not fit that causes
should be openly determined out of regard to gain, or to the
dignity of the suitors, but that the judges should esteem what
is right before all other things, otherwise God will by that
means be despised, and esteemed inferior to those, the dread of
whose power has occasioned the unjust sentence; for justice is
the power of God. He therefore that gratifies those in great
dignity, supposes them more potent than God himself. But if
these judges be unable to give a just sentence about the causes
that come before them, (which case is not unfrequent in human
affairs,) let them send the cause undetermined to the holy city,
and there let the high priest, the prophet, and the sanhedrim,
determine as it shall seem good to them.

15. But let not a single witness be credited, but three, or two
at the least, and those such whose testimony is confirmed by
their good lives. But let not the testimony of women be
admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex
(21) Nor let servants be admitted to give testimony, on account
of the ignobility of their soul; since it is probable that they
may not speak truth, either out of hope of gain, or fear of
punishment. But if any one be believed to have borne false
witness, let him, when he is convicted, suffer all the very same
punishments which he against whom he bore witness was to have
suffered.

16. If a murder be committed in any place, and he that did it be
not found, nor is there any suspicion upon one as if he had
hated the man, and so had killed him, let there be a very
diligent inquiry made after the man, and rewards proposed to any
one who will discover him; but if still no information can be
procured, let the magistrates and senate of those cities that
lie near the place in which the murder was committed, assemble
together, and measure the distance from the place where the dead
body lies; then let the magistrates of the nearest city thereto
purchase a heifer, and bring it to a valley, and to a place
therein where there is no land ploughed or trees planted, and
let them cut the sinews of the heifer; then the priests and
Levites, and the senate of that city, shall take water and wash
their hands over the head of the heifer; and they shall openly
declare that their hands are innocent of this murder, and that
they have neither done it themselves, nor been assisting to any
that did it. They shall also beseech God to be merciful to them,
that no such horrid act may any more be done in that land.

17. Aristocracy, and the way of living under it, is the best
constitution: and may you never have any inclination to any
other form of government; and may you always love that form, and
have the laws for your governors, and govern all your actions
according to them; for you need no supreme governor but God. But
if you shall desire a king, let him be one of your own nation;
let him be always careful of justice and other virtues
perpetually; let him submit to the laws, and esteem God's
commands to be his highest wisdom; but let him do nothing
without the high priest and the votes of the senators: let him
not have a great number of wives, nor pursue after abundance of
riches, nor a multitude of horses, whereby he may grow too proud
to submit to the laws. And if he affect any such things, let him
be restrained, lest he become so potent that his state be
inconsistent with your welfare.

18. Let it not be esteemed lawful to remove boundaries, neither
our own, nor of those with whom we are at peace. Have a care you
do not take those landmarks away which are, as it were, a divine
and unshaken limitation of rights made by God himself, to last
for ever; since this going beyond limits, and gaining ground
upon others, is the occasion of wars and seditions; for those
that remove boundaries are not far off an attempt to subvert the
laws.

19. He that plants a piece of land, the trees of which produce
fruits before the fourth year, is not to bring thence any
first-fruits to God, nor is he to make use of that fruit
himself, for it is not produced in its proper season; for when
nature has a force put upon her at an unseasonable time, the
fruit is not proper for God, nor for the master's use; but let
the owner gather all that is grown on the fourth car, for then
it is in its proper season. And let him that has gathered it
carry it to the holy city, and spend that, together with the
tithe of his other fruits, in feasting with his friends, with
the orphans, and the widows. But on the fifth year the fruit is
his own, and he may use it as he pleases.

20. You are not to sow with seed a piece of land which is
planted with vines, for it is enough that it supply nourishment
to that plant, and be not harassed by ploughing also. You are to
plough your land with oxen, and not to oblige other animals to
come under the same yoke with them; but to till your land with
those beasts that are of the same kind with each other. The
seeds are also to be pure, and without mixture, and not to be
compounded of two or three sorts, since nature does not rejoice
in the union of things that are not in their own nature alike;
nor are you to permit beasts of different kinds to gender
together, for there is reason to fear that this unnatural abuse
may extend from beasts of different kinds to men, though it
takes its first rise from evil practices about such smaller
things. Nor is any thing to be allowed, by imitation whereof any
degree of subversion may creep into the constitution. Nor do the
laws neglect small matters, but provide that even those may be
managed after an unblamable manner.

21. Let not those that reap, and gather in the corn that is
reaped, gather in the gleanings also; but let them rather leave
some handfuls for those that are in want of the necessaries of
life, that it may be a support and a supply to them, in order to
their subsistence. In like manner when they gather their grapes,
let them leave some smaller bunches for the poor, and let them
pass over some of the fruits of the olive-trees, when they
gather them, and leave them to be partaken of by those that have
none of their own; for the advantage arising from the exact
collection of all, will not be so considerable to the owners as
will arise from the gratitude of the poor. And God will provide
that the land shall more willingly produce what shall be for the
nourishment of its fruits, in case you do not merely take care
of your own advantage, but have regard to the support of others
also. Nor are you to muzzle the mouths of the oxen when they
tread the ears of corn in the thrashing-floor; for it is not
just to restrain our fellow-laboring animals, and those that
work in order to its production, of this fruit of their
labors. Nor are you to prohibit those that pass by at the time
when your fruits are ripe to touch them, but to give them leave
to fill themselves full of what you have; and this whether they
be of your own country or strangers, as being glad of the
opportunity of giving them some part of your fruits when they
are ripe; but let it not be esteemed lawful for them to carry
any away. Nor let those that gather the grapes, and carry them
to the wine-presses, restrain those whom they meet from eating
of them; for it is unjust, out of envy, to hinder those that
desire it, to partake of the good things that come into the
world according to God's will, and this while the season is at
the height, and is hastening away as it pleases God. Nay, if
some, out of bashfulness, are unwilling to touch these fruits,
let them be encouraged to take of them (I mean, those that are
Israelites) as if they were themselves the owners and lords, on
account of the kindred there is between them. Nay, let them
desire men that come from other countries, to partake of these
tokens of friendship which God has given in their proper season;
for that is not to be deemed as idly spent, which any one out of
kindness communicates to another, since God bestows plenty of
good things on men, not only for themselves to reap the
advantage, but also to give to others in a way of generosity;
and he is desirous, by this means, to make known to others his
peculiar kindness to the people of Israel, and how freely he
communicates happiness to them, while they abundantly
communicate out of their great superfluities to even these
foreigners also. But for him that acts contrary to this law, let
him be beaten with forty stripes save one (22) by the public
executioner; let him undergo this punishment, which is a most
ignominious one for a free-man, and this because he was such a
slave to gain as to lay a blot upon his dignity; for it is
proper for you who have had the experience of the afflictions in
Egypt, and of those in the wilderness, to make provision for
those that are in the like circumstances; and while you have now
obtained plenty yourselves, through the mercy and providence of
God, to distribute of the same plenty, by the like sympathy, to
such as stand in need of it.

22. Besides those two tithes, which I have already said you are
to pay every year, the one for the Levites, the other for the
festivals, you are to bring every third year a third tithe to be
distributed to those that want; (23) to women also that are
widows, and to children that are orphans. But as to the ripe
fruits, let them carry that which is ripe first of all into the
temple; and when they have blessed God for that land which bare
them, and which he had given them for a possession, when they
have also offered those sacrifices which the law has commanded
them to bring, let them give the first-fruits to the
priests. But when any one hath done this, and hath brought the
tithe of all that he hath, together with those first-fruits that
are for the Levites, and for the festivals, and when he is about
to go home, let him stand before the holy house, and return
thanks to God, that he hath delivered them from the injurious
treatment they had in Egypt, and hath given them a good land,
and a large, and lets them enjoy the fruits thereof; and when he
hath openly testified that he hath fully paid the tithes [and
other dues] according to the laws of Moses, let him entreat God
that he will be ever merciful and gracious to him, and continue
so to be to all the Hebrews, both by preserving the good things
which he hath already given them, and by adding what it is still
in his power to bestow upon them.

23. Let the Hebrews marry, at the age fit for it, virgins that
are free, and born of good parents. And he that does not marry a
virgin, let him not corrupt another man's wife, and marry her,
nor grieve her former husband. Nor let free men marry slaves,
although their affections should strongly bias any of them so to
do; for it is decent, and for the dignity of the persons
themselves, to govern those their affections. And further, no
one ought to marry a harlot, whose matrimonial oblations,
arising from the prostitution of her body, God will not receive;
for by these means the dispositions of the children will be
liberal and virtuous; I mean, when they are not born of base
parents, and of the lustful conjunction of such as marry women
that are not free. If any one has been espoused to a woman as to
a virgin, and does not afterward find her so to be, let him
bring his action, and accuse her, and let him make use of such
indications (24) to prove his accusation as he is furnished
withal; and let the father or the brother of the damsel, or some
one that is after them nearest of kin to her, defend her If the
damsel obtain a sentence in her favor, that she had not been
guilty, let her live with her husband that accused her; and let
him not have any further power at all to put her away, unless
she give him very great occasions of suspicion, and such as can
be no way contradicted. But for him that brings an accusation
and calumny against his wife in an impudent and rash manner, let
him be punished by receiving forty stripes save one, and let him
pay fifty shekels to her father: but if the damsel be convicted,
as having been corrupted, and is one of the common people, let
her be stoned, because she did not preserve her virginity till
she were lawfully married; but if she were the daughter of a
priest, let her be burnt alive. If any one has two wives, and if
he greatly respect and be kind to one of them, either out of his
affection to her, or for her beauty, or for some other reason,
while the other is of less esteem with him; and if the son of
her that is beloved be the younger by birth than another born of
the other wife, but endeavors to obtain the right of
primogeniture from his father's kindness to his mother, and
would thereby obtain a double portion of his father's substance,
for that double portion is what I have allotted him in the laws,
let not this be permitted; for it is unjust that he who is the
elder by birth should be deprived of what is due to him, on the
father's disposition of his estate, because his mother was not
equally regarded by him. He that hath corrupted a damsel
espoused to another man, in case he had her consent, let both
him and her be put to death, for they are both equally guilty;
the man, because he persuaded the woman willingly to submit to a
most impure action, and to prefer it to lawful wedlock; the
woman, because she was persuaded to yield herself to be
corrupted, either for pleasure or for gain. However, if a man
light on a woman when she is alone, and forces her, where nobody
was present to come to her assistance, let him only be put to
death. Let him that hath corrupted a virgin not yet espoused
marry her; but if the father of the damsel be not willing that
she should be his wife, let him pay fifty shekels as the price
of her prostitution. He that desires to be divorced from his
wife for any cause (25) whatsoever, (and many such causes happen
among men,) let him in writing give assurance that he will never
use her as his wife any more; for by this means she may be at
liberty to marry another husband, although before this bill of
divorce be given, she is not to be permitted so to do: but if
she be misused by him also, or if, when he is dead, her first
husband would marry her again, it shall not be lawful for her to
return to him. If a woman's husband die, and leave her without
children, let his brother marry her, and let him call the son
that is born to him by his brother's name, and educate him as
the heir of his inheritance, for this procedure will be for the
benefit of the public, because thereby families will not fail,
and the estate will continue among the kindred; and this will be
for the solace of wives under their affliction, that they are to
be married to the next relation of their former husbands. But if
the brother will not marry her, let the woman come before the
senate, and protest openly that this brother will not admit her
for his wife, but will injure the memory of his deceased
brother, while she is willing to continue in the family, and to
hear him children. And when the senate have inquired of him for
what reason it is that he is averse to this marriage, whether he
gives a bad or a good reason, the matter must come to this
issue, That the woman shall loose the sandals of the brother,
and shall spit in his face, and say, He deserves this
reproachful treatment from her, as having injured the memory of
the deceased. And then let him go away out of the senate, and
bear this reproach upon him all his life long; and let her marry
to whom she pleases, of such as seek her in marriage. But now,
if any man take captive, either a virgin, or one that hath been
married, (26) and has a mind to marry her, let him not be
allowed to bring her to bed to him, or to live with her as his
wife, before she hath her head shaven, and hath put on her
mourning habit, and lamented her relations and friends that were
slain in the battle, that by this means she may give vent to her
sorrow for them, and after that may betake herself to feasting
and matrimony; for it is good for him that takes a woman, in
order to have children by her, to be complaisant to her
inclinations, and not merely to pursue his own pleasure, while
he hath no regard to what is agreeable to her. But when thirty
days are past, as the time of mourning, for so many are
sufficient to prudent persons for lamenting the dearest friends,
then let them proceed to the marriage; but in case when he hath
satisfied his lust, he be too proud to retain her for his wife,
let him not have it in his power to make her a slave, but let
her go away whither she pleases, and have that privilege of a
free woman.

24. As to those young men that despise their parents, and do not
pay them honor, but offer them affronts, either because they are
ashamed of them or think themselves wiser than they, in the
first place, let their parents admonish them in words, (for they
are by nature of authority sufficient for becoming their
judges,) and let them say thus to them: That they cohabited
together, not for the sake of pleasure, nor for the augmentation
of their riches, by joining both their stocks together, but that
they might have children to take care of them in their old age,
and might by them have what they then should want. And say
further to him, "That when thou wast born, we took thee up with
gladness, and gave God the greatest thanks for thee, and brought
time up with great care, and spared for nothing that appeared
useful for thy preservation, and for thy instruction in what was
most excellent. And now, since it is reasonable to forgive the
sins of those that are young, let it suffice thee to have given
so many indications Of thy contempt of us; reform thyself, and
act more wisely for the time to come; considering that God is
displeased with those that are insolent towards their parents,
because he is himself the Father of the whole race of mankind,
and seems to bear part of that dishonor which falls upon those
that have the same name, when they do not meet with dire returns
from their children. And on such the law inflicts inexorable
punishment; of which punishment mayst thou never have the
experience." Now if the insolence of young men be thus cured,
let them escape the reproach which their former errors deserved;
for by this means the lawgiver will appear to be good, and
parents happy, while they never behold either a son or a
daughter brought to punishment. But if it happen that these
words and instructions, conveyed by them in order to reclaim the
man, appear to be useless, then the offender renders the laws
implacable enemies to the insolence he has offered his parents;
let him therefore be brought forth (27) by these very parents
out of the city, with a multitude following him, and there let
him be stoned; and when he has continued there for one whole
day, that all the people may see him, let him be buried in the
night. And thus it is that we bury all whom the laws condemn to
die, upon any account whatsoever. Let our enemies that fall in
battle be also buried; nor let any one dead body lie above the
ground, or suffer a punishment beyond what justice requires.

25. Let no one lend to any one of the Hebrews upon usury,
neither usury of what is eaten or what is drunken, for it is not
just to make advantage of the misfortunes of one of thy own
countrymen; but when thou hast been assistant to his
necessities, think it thy gain if thou obtainest their gratitude
to thee; and withal that reward which will come to thee from
God, for thy humanity towards him.

26. Those who have borrowed either silver or any sort of fruits,
whether dry or wet, (I mean this, when the Jewish affairs shall,
by the blessing of God, be to their own mind,) let the borrowers
bring them again, and restore them with pleasure to those who
lent them, laying them up, as it were, in their own treasuries,
and justly expecting to receive them thence, if they shall want
them again. But if they be without shame, and do not restore it,
let not the lender go to the borrower's house, and take a pledge
himself, before judgment be given concerning it; but let him
require the pledge, and let the debtor bring it of himself,
without the least opposition to him that comes upon him under
the protection of the law. And if he that gave the pledge be
rich, let the creditor retain it till what he lent be paid him
again; but if he be poor, let him that takes it return it before
the going down of the sun, especially if the pledge be a
garment, that the debtor may have it for a covering in his
sleep, God himself naturally showing mercy to the poor. It is
also not lawful to take a millstone, nor any utensil thereto
belonging, for a pledge, that the debtor, may not be deprived of
instruments to get their food withal, and lest they be undone by
their necessity.

27. Let death be the punishment for stealing a man; but he that
hath purloined gold or silver, let him pay double. If any one
kill a man that is stealing something out of his house, let him
be esteemed guiltless, although the man were only breaking in at
the wall. Let him that hath stolen cattle pay fourfold what is
lost, excepting the case of an ox, for which let the thief pay
fivefold. Let him that is so poor that he cannot pay what mulet
is laid upon him, be his servant to whom he was adjudged to pay
it.

28. If any one be sold to one of his own nation, let him serve
him six years, and on the seventh let him go free. But if he
have a son by a woman servant in his purchaser's house, and if,
on account of his good-will to his master, and his natural
affection to his wife and children, he will be his servant
still, let him be set free only at the coming of the year of
jubilee, which is the fiftieth year, and let him then take away
with him his children and wife, and let them be free also.

29. If any one find gold or silver on the road, let him inquire
after him that lost it, and make proclamation of the place where
he found it, and then restore it to him again, as not thinking
it right to make his own profit by the loss of another. And the
same rule is to be observed in cattle found to have wandered
away into a lonely place. If the owner be not presently
discovered, let him that is the finder keep it with himself, and
appeal to God that he has not purloined what belongs to another.

30. It is not lawful to pass by any beast that is in distress,
when in a storm it is fallen down in the mire, but to endeavor
to preserve it, as having a sympathy with it in its pain.

31. It is also a duty to show the roads to those who do not know
them, and not to esteem it a matter for sport, when we hinder
others' advantages, by setting them in a wrong way.

32. In like manner, let no one revile a person blind or dumb.

33. If men strive together, and there be no instrument of iron,
let him that is smitten be avenged immediately, by inflicting
the same punishment on him that smote him: but if when he is
carried home he lie sick many days, and then die, let him that
smote him not escape punishment; but if he that is smitten
escape death, and yet be at great expense for his cure, the
smiter shall pay for all that has been expended during the time
of his sickness, and for all that he has paid the physician. He
that kicks a woman with child, so that the woman miscarry, (28)
let him pay a fine in money, as the judges shall determine, as
having diminished the multitude by the destruction of what was
in her womb; and let money also be given the woman's husband by
him that kicked her; but if she die of the stroke, let him also
be put to death, the law judging it equitable that life should
go for life.

34. Let no one of the Israelites keep any poison (29) that may
cause death, or any other harm; but if he be caught with it, let
him be put to death, and suffer the very same mischief that he
would have brought upon them for whom the poison was prepared.

35. He that maimeth any one, let him undergo the like himself,
and be deprived of the same member of which he hath deprived the
other, unless he that is maimed will accept of money instead of
it (30) for the law makes the sufferer the judge of the value of
what he hath suffered, and permits him to estimate it, unless he
will be more severe.

36. Let him that is the owner of an ox which pusheth with his
horn, kill him: but if he pushes and gores any one in the
thrashing-floor, let him be put to death by stoning, and let him
not be thought fit for food: but if his owner be convicted as
having known what his nature was, and hath not kept him up, let
him also be put to death, as being the occasion of the ox's
having killed a man. But if the ox have killed a man-servant, or
a maid-servant, let him be stoned; and let the owner of the ox
pay thirty shekels (31) to the master of him that was slain; but
if it be an ox that is thus smitten and killed, let both the
oxen, that which smote the other and that which was killed, be
sold, and let the owners of them divide their price between
them.

37. Let those that dig a well or a pit be careful to lay planks
over them, and so keep them shut up, not in order to hinder any
persons from drawing water, but that there may be no danger of
falling into them. But if any one's beast fall into such a well
or pit thus digged, and not shut up, and perish, let the owner
pay its price to the owner of the beast. Let there be a
battlement round the tops of your houses instead of a wall, that
may prevent any persons from rolling down and perishing.

38. Let him that has received any thing in trust for another,
take care to keep it as a sacred and divine thing; and let no
one invent any contrivance whereby to deprive him that hath
intrusted it with him of the same, and this whether he be a man
or a woman; no, not although he or she were to gain an immense
sum of gold, and this where he cannot be convicted of it by any
body; for it is fit that a man's own conscience, which knows
what he hath, should in all cases oblige him to do well. Let
this conscience be his witness, and make him always act so as
may procure him commendation from others; but let him chiefly
have regard to God, from whom no wicked man can lie concealed:
but if he in whom the trust was reposed, without any deceit of
his own, lose what he was intrusted withal, let him come before
the seven judges, and swear by God that nothing hath been lost
willingly, or with a wicked intention, and that he hath not made
use of any part thereof, and so let him depart without blame;
but if he hath made use of the least part of what was committed
to him, and it be lost, let him be condemned to repay all that
he had received. After the same manner as in these trusts it is
to be, if any one defraud those that undergo bodily labor for
him. And let it be always remembered, that we are not to defraud
a poor man of his wages, as being sensible that God has allotted
these wages to him instead of land and other possessions; nay,
this payment is not at all to be delayed, but to be made that
very day, since God is not willing to deprive the laborer of the
immediate use of what he hath labored for.

39. You are not to punish children for the faults of their
parents, but on account of their own virtue rather to vouchsafe
them commiseration, because they were born of wicked parents,
than hatred, because they were born of bad ones. Nor indeed
ought we to impute the sin of children to their fathers, while
young persons indulge themselves in many practices different
from what they have been instructed in, and this by their proud
refusal of such instruction.

40. Let those that have made themselves eunuchs be had in
detestation; and do you avoid any conversation with them who
have deprived themselves of their manhood, and of that fruit of
generation which God has given to men for the increase of their
kind: let such be driven away, as if they had killed their
children, since they beforehand have lost what should procure
them; for evident it is, that while their soul is become
effeminate, they have withal transfused that effeminacy to their
body also. In like manner do you treat all that is of a
monstrous nature when it is looked on; nor is it lawful to geld
men or any other animals. (32)

41. Let this be the constitution of your political laws in time
of peace, and God will be so merciful as to preserve this
excellent settlement free from disturbance: and may that time
never come which may innovate any thing, and change it for the
contrary. But since it must needs happen that mankind fall into
troubles and dangers, either undesignedly or intentionally, come
let us make a few constitutions concerning them, that so being
apprised beforehand what ought to be done, you may have salutary
counsels ready when you want them, and may not then be obliged
to go to seek what is to be done, and so be unprovided, and fall
into dangerous circumstances. May you be a laborious people, and
exercise your souls in virtuous actions, and thereby possess and
inherit the land without wars; while neither any foreigners make
war upon it, and so afflict you, nor any internal sedition seize
upon it, whereby you may do things that are contrary to your
fathers, and so lose the laws which they have established. And
may you continue in the observation of those laws which God hath
approved of, and hath delivered to you. Let all sort of warlike
operations, whether they befall you now in your own time, or
hereafter in the times of your posterity, be done out of your
own borders: but when you are about to go to war, send
embassages and heralds to those who are your voluntary enemies,
for it is a right thing to make use of words to them before you
come to your weapons of war; and assure them thereby, that
although you have a numerous army, with horses and weapons, and,
above these, a God merciful to you, and ready to assist you, you
do however desire them not to compel you to fight against them,
nor to take from them what they have, which will indeed be our
gain, but what they will have no reason to wish we should take
to ourselves. And if they hearken to you, it will be proper for
you to keep peace with them; but if they trust in their own
strength, as superior to yours, and will not do you justice,
lead your army against them, making use of God as your supreme
Commander, but ordaining for a lieutenant under him one that is
of the greatest courage among you; for these different
commanders, besides their being an obstacle to actions that are
to be done on the sudden, are a disadvantage to those that make
use of them. Lead an army pure, and of chosen men, composed of
all such as have extraordinary strength of body and hardiness of
soul; but do you send away the timorous part, lest they run away
in the time of action, and so afford an advantage to your
enemies. Do you also give leave to those that have lately built
them houses, and have not yet lived in them a year's time; and
to those that have planted them vineyards, and have not yet been
partakers of their fruits, to continue in their own country; as
well as those also who have betrothed, or lately married them
wives, lest they have such an affection for these things that
they he too sparing of their lives, and, by reserving themselves
for these enjoyments, they become voluntary cowards, on account
of their wives.

42. When you have pitched your camp, take care that you do
nothing that is cruel. And when you are engaged in a siege; and
want timber for the making of warlike engines, do not you render
the land naked by cutting down trees that bear fruit, but spare
them, as considering that they were made for the benefit of men;
and that if they could speak, they would have a just plea
against you, because, though they are not occasions of the war,
they are unjustly treated, and suffer in it, and would, if they
were able, remove themselves into another land. When you have
beaten your enemies in battle, slay those that have fought
against you; but preserve the others alive, that they may pay
you tribute, excepting the nation of the Canaanites; for as to
that people, you must entirely destroy them.

43, Take care, especially in your battles, that no woman use the
habit of a man, nor man the garment of a woman.

44. This was the form of political government which was left us
by Moses. Moreover, he had already delivered laws in writing
(33) in the fortieth year [after they came out of Egypt],
concerning which we will discourse in another book. But now on
the following days (for he called them to assemble continually)
he delivered blessings to them, and curses upon those that
should not live according to the laws, but should transgress the
duties that were determined for them to observe. After this, he
read to them a poetic song, which was composed in hexameter
verse, and left it to them in the holy book: it contained a
prediction of what was to come to pass afterward; agreeably
whereto all things have happened all along, and do still happen
to us; and wherein he has not at all deviated from the
truth. Accordingly, he delivered these books to the priest, (34)
with the ark; into which he also put the ten commandments,
written on two tables. He delivered to them the tabernacle also,
and exhorted the people, that when they had conquered the land,
and were settled in it, they should not forget the injuries of
the Amalekites, but make war against them, and inflict
punishment upon them for what mischief they did them when they
were in the wilderness; and that when they had got possession of
the land of the Canaanites, and when they had destroyed the
whole multitude of its inhabitants, as they ought to do, they
should erect an altar that should face the rising sun, not far
from the city of Shechem, between the two mountains, that of
Gerizzim, situate on the right hand, and that called Ebal, on
the left; and that the army should be so divided, that six
tribes should stand upon each of the two mountains, and with
them the Levites and the priests. And that first, those that
were upon Mount Gerizzim should pray for the best blessings upon
those who were diligent about the worship of God, and the
observation of his laws, and who did not reject what Moses had
said to them; while the other wished them all manner of
happiness also; and when these last put up the like prayers, the
former praised them. After this, curses were denounced upon
those that should transgress those laws, they ,answering one
another alternately, by way of confirmation of what had been
said. Moses also wrote their blessings and their curses, that
they might learn them so thoroughly, that they might never be
forgotten by length of time. And when he was ready to die, he
wrote these blessings and curses upon the altar, on each side of
it; where he says also the people stood, and then sacrificed and
offered burnt-offerings, though after that day they never
offered upon it any other sacrifice, for it was not lawful so to
do. These are the constitutions of Moses; and the Hebrew nation
still live according to them.

45. On the next day, Moses called the people together, with the
women and children, to a congregation, so as the very slaves
were present also, that they might engage themselves to the
observation of these laws by oath; and that, duly considering
the meaning of God in them, they might not, either for favor of
their kindred, or out of fear of any one, or indeed for any
motive whatsoever, think any thing ought to be preferred to
these laws, and so might transgress them. That in case any one
of their own blood, or any city, should attempt to confound or
dissolve their constitution of government, they should take
vengeance upon them, both all in general, and each person in
particular; and when they had conquered them, should overturn
their city to the very foundations, and, if possible, should not
leave the least footsteps of such madness: but that if they were
not able to take such vengeance, they should still demonstrate
that what was done was contrary to their wills. So the multitude
bound themselves by oath so to do.

46. Moses taught them also by what means their sacrifices might
be the most acceptable to God; and how they should go forth to
war, making use of the stones (in the high priest's breastplate)
for their direction, (35) as I have before signified. Joshua
also prophesied while Moses was present. And when Moses had
recapitulated whatsoever he had done for the preservation of the
people, both in their wars and in peace, and had composed them a
body of laws, and procured them an excellent form of government,
he foretold, as God had declared to him "That if they
transgressed that institution for the worship of God, they
should experience the following miseries: Their land should be
full of weapons of war from their enemies, and their cities
should be overthrown, and their temple should be burnt that they
should be sold for slaves, to such men as would have no pity on
them in their afflictions; that they would then repent, when
that repentance would no way profit them under their
sufferings. Yet," said he, "will that God who founded your
nation, restore your cities to your citizens, with their temple
also; and you shall lose these advantages not once only, but
often."

47. Now when Moses had encouraged Joshua to lead out the army
against the Canaanites, by telling him that God would assist him
in all his undertakings, and had blessed the whole multitude, he
said, "Since I am going to my forefathers, and God has
determined that this should be the day of my departure to them,
I return him thanks while I am still alive and present with you,
for that providence he hath exercised over you, which hath not
only delivered us from the miseries we lay under, but hath
bestowed a state of prosperity upon us; as also, that he hath
assisted me in the pains I took, and in all the contrivances I
had in my care about you, in order to better your condition, and
hath on all occasions showed himself favorable to us; or rather
he it was who first conducted our affairs, and brought them to a
happy conclusion, by making use of me as a vicarious general
under him, and as a minister in those matters wherein he was
willing to do you good: on which account I think it proper to
bless that Divine Power which will take care of you for the time
to come, and this in order to repay that debt which I owe him,
and to leave behind me a memorial that we are obliged to worship
and honor him, and to keep those laws which are the most
excellent gift of all those he hath already bestowed upon us, or
which, if he continue favorable to us, he will bestow upon us
hereafter. Certainly a human legislator is a terrible enemy when
his laws are affronted, and are made to no purpose. And may you
never experience that displeasure of God which will be the
consequence of the neglect of these his laws, which he, who is
your Creator, hath given you."

48. When Moses had spoken thus at the end of his life, and had
foretold what would befall to every one of their tribes (36)
afterward, with the addition of a blessing to them, the
multitude fell into tears, insomuch that even the women, by
beating their breasts, made manifest the deep concern they had
when he was about to die. The children also lamented still more,
as not able to contain their grief; and thereby declared, that
even at their age they were sensible of his virtue and mighty
deeds; and truly there seemed to be a strife betwixt the young
and the old who should most grieve for him. The old grieved
because they knew what a careful protector they were to be
deprived of, and so lamented their future state; but the young
grieved, not only for that, but also because it so happened that
they were to be left by him before they had well tasted of his
virtue. Now one may make a guess at the excess of this sorrow
and lamentation of the multitude, from what happened to the
legislator himself; for although he was always persuaded that he
ought not to be cast down at the approach of death, since the
undergoing it was agreeable to the will of God and the law of
nature, yet what the people did so overbore him, that he wept
himself. Now as he went thence to the place where he was to
vanish out of their sight, they all followed after him weeping;
but Moses beckoned with his hand to those that were remote from
him, and bade them stay behind in quiet, while he exhorted those
that were near to him that they would not render his departure
so lamentable. Whereupon they thought they ought to grant him
that favor, to let him depart according as he himself desired;
so they restrained themselves, though weeping still towards one
another. All those who accompanied him were the senate, and
Eleazar the high priest, and Joshua their commander. Now as soon
as they were come to the mountain called Abarim, (which
is a very high mountain, situate over against Jericho, and one
that affords, to such as are upon it, a prospect of the greatest
part of the excellent land of Canaan,) he dismissed the senate;
and as he was going to embrace Eleazar and Joshua, and was still
discoursing with them, a cloud stood over him on the sudden, and
he disappeared in a certain valley, although he wrote in the
holy books that he died, which was done out of fear, lest they
should venture to say that, because of his extraordinary virtue,
he went to God.

49. Now Moses lived in all one hundred and twenty years; a third
part of which time, abating one month, he was the people's
ruler; and he died on the last month of the year, which is
called by the Macedonians Dystrus, but by us Adar,
on the first day of the month. He was one that exceeded all men
that ever were in understanding, and made the best use of what
that understanding suggested to him. He had a very graceful way
of speaking and addressing himself to the multitude; and as to
his other qualifications, he had such a full command of his
passions, as if he hardly had any such in his soul, and only
knew them by their names, as rather perceiving them in other men
than in himself. He was also such a general of an army as is
seldom seen, as well as such a prophet as was never known, and
this to such a degree, that whatsoever he pronounced, you would
think you heard the voice of God himself. So the people mourned
for him thirty days: nor did ever any grief so deeply affect the
Hebrews as did this upon the death of Moses: nor were those that
had experienced his conduct the only persons that desired him,
but those also that perused the laws he left behind him had a
strong desire after him, and by them gathered the extraordinary
virtue he was master of. And this shall suffice for the
declaration of the manner of the death of Moses.